Sensex sheds 232 points, Nifty ends below 8,200; Asian Paints top loser

On the BSE, 1,529 shares declined and 1,103 shares rose, while a total of 146 shares were unchanged

Snapping two-session long gaining spree, the benchmark indices ended lower on Monday as information technology stocks were hit by tough talk on visas by US president-elect Donald Trump, while oil retailers declined after crude prices surged to their highest since mid-2015.

The S&P BSE Sensex settled the day at 26,515, down 232 points, while the broader Nifty50 ended at 8,170, down 91 points. 

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was negative. On the BSE, 1,529 shares declined and 1,103 shares rose. A total of 146 shares were unchanged.

"The Market plunged due to a spurt in oil prices and its impact on India’s inflation band which has elevated the pressure on equities. Adding to this, the prospects of a rate hike by the US Federal Reserve later this week is almost factored by the market but the focus remains on US economic outlook and inflation, though investors are likely to view the event in conjunction with the policy stance of the newly elected US president," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit BNP Paribas Financial Services.

Sentiment was also dampened after industrial output unexpectedly fell in October by 1.9%, driven down by a contraction in manufacturing and mining sectors, according to data released late on Friday.

Sectors and stocks

S&P BSE Auto index was the leading sectoral decliner and shed 1.73%, led by losses in Eicher Motors, Amara Raja Batteries, Cummins India and Bajaj Auto.

Asian Paints (down 3.15%), Axis Bank (down 2.56%), Bajaj Auto (down 2.52%) and Tata Motors (down 2.05%) were the top losers on Sensex. 

IT stocks pared losses after falling up to 2% after Trump on Friday pledged to stop companies from abusing the visa process for foreign workers.

Infosys fell as much as 2.44%, while Tata Consultancy Services and Wipro shed up to 1.47% and 1.44%, respectively in intraday deals.

However, Shares of select mid-sized and small information technology (IT) and its related companies extended gains and rose up to 20% for the second straight day.

Rolta India, Allied Digital Services, Intense Technologies, Aurionpro Solutions, D-Link (India), Smartlink Network Systems, TVS Electronics and Bartronics India were up between 10% and 20% on the BSE.

Smartlink Network Systems, Bartronics India, TVS Electronics, Tanla Solutions, Datamatics Global Services and HCL Infosystems are from IT software and hardware sectors hitting their respective 52-week highs on the BSE in intra-day trade.

Oil retailers were down on concerns about the impact of higher crude prices. Bharat Petroleum Corp fell as much as 2.51%, while Indian Oil Corp declined up to 2.23%.

But oil and gas explorer Oil & Natural Gas Corp rose as much as 2.54% as it would benefit from higher crude prices.

Global markets

Overseas, European stocks were mostly higher as political uncertainty in Italy eased and investors awaited another rate decision from the US Federal Reserve this week. 

Asian stocks witnessed a mixed trend. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index closed 0.84% higher. Japan's October core machinery orders rose for the first time in three months to beat expectations, government data showed. 

China stocks suffered their biggest fall in six months as blue-chips were knocked by fresh regulatory curbs to rein in insurers' aggressive stock investments, while rising bond yields prompted profit-taking in equities.

The blue-chip CSI300 index fell 2.4%, to 3,409.18 points, while the Shanghai Composite Index lost 2.5% to 3,152.97 points.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index extended early losses and dropped 1.4%, to 22,433.02.